 Consumer’s choice made between two or more options available  If many options are available it is called consumer’s freedom  A Hobson's choice is a free choice in which only one option is offered

Levels are made by consumer’s effort from very low to very high:  Extensive problem solving A lot of information needed Must establish a set of criteria  Limited problem solving Criteria for evaulation established Fine tunning with additional information  Routinized response behavior Usually review what they already know Past experience

 ECONOMIC VIEW (RATIONAL DECISIONS) * Be avare of all product alternatives * Correctly rank all alternatives by its benefits * Be able to select the best alternative  PASSIVE VIEW * Consumers are preceived as irrational purchasers * Consumers are submissive * Marketers can control consumer’s decisions

 COGNITIVE VIEW * Consumer is a thinking problem solver * Consumer is ulikely to obtain all available information about every choice * Consumers stop research if they’ve enough information to make satisfactory decision  EMOTIONAL VIEW * Emotions that product trigger can change consumer’s decisions * Consumer’s mood is important

PERSONAL Friends Neighbors Relatives Co-workers Calling the store PERSONAL Friends Neighbors Relatives Co-workers Calling the storeIMPERSONAL Newspaper articles Magazine articles Consumer Reports Direct-mail brochures Information from product advertisements Internal web siteIMPERSONAL Newspaper articles Magazine articles Consumer Reports Direct-mail brochures Information from product advertisements Internal web site  These sources are praticaly input for consumer

 NEED RECOGNITION * Consumer is faced with a difference between the current state and desired state. * Marketers tends to create imbalance between consumer’s current and desired state.

 Information search about the different alternative selections that they can purchase to satisfy their need.  Internal information search (using information from memory, such as past experiences with the product)  External information search (get information from external sources, e.g., ads, media, friends, stores)

 Search regret describes search failure  Consumer cannot solve a issue  Proper training of sales people is used to prevent this failure Search effort Atypical Search Strategy Negative Emotions Search Regret Product Blame Store Blame Self Blame Other Blame Active Coping

Consumer tends to use two types of information: * List of brands from which they plan to make their selection(Evoked set) * The criteria they will use to evaluate each brand

 Strategies used by consumers to make decision easier  Most of decision rules use product characteristics to guide decisions  These rules can be: * Compensatory (select the best overall brand) Consumer evaluates brand options in terms of each relevant attribute and computes a weighted or summated score for each brand. The consumer chooses the brand with the highest score. * Noncompensatory Consumer evaluates brand options in terms of one relevant attribute and chooses the brand which satisfy the condition.

NONCOMPENSATORY RULES ARE: * CONJUNCTIVE DECISION RULE (Reduces a large consideration set by using cutoff level) „I selected the car that had no bad features.” * DISJUNCTIVE DECISION RULE (Reduces large consideration set by accepting cuttoff level) „I picked the car that excelled in at least one attribute.”

* L EXICOGRAPHIC DECISION RULE Reduces a large consideration set by choosing brand which is superior on the most important attribute. „I picked the car which can achieve the highest speed.  AFFECT REFERRAL DECISION RULE Reduces a large consideration set by highest percieved overall rating „I picked the car with the highest overall rating.”

 Incomplete information Delay decision until missing information is obtained Ignore missing information and use available information Change the decision strategy to one that better accommodates for the missing information

 A purchase can involve a number of decisions When choosing a car buyer is involved in a number of decisions: The model, country of origin, total price, the dealer and other options  Applying Decison Rules Consumer sometimes should attempt to compare dissimilar alternatives

 Consumers evaluate purchases during consumption process There are three possible outcomes: NEUTRAL FEELING Actual product performance matches prepurchase expectations POSITIVE DISCONFIRMATION OF EXPECTATION SATISFACTION Actual product performance exceeds prepurchase expectations. NEGATIVE DISCONFIRMATION OF EXPECTATIONS DISSATISFACTION Actual product performance is below prepurchase expectations DissatisfactionSatisfaction Delighted

 Infomation overload can cause consumer to postpone purchasing or even to change brand which will decrease profit of company  Companiens are trying to prevent confusion and have satisfied consumers

Alternative actions  Do nothing  Avoid seller/brand in the future  Negative WOM to friends  Seek compensation of problem from seller  Complain to outside agency

 Gifting is an act of symbolic communication, with explicit and implicit meanings ranging from congratulations and love, to regret, obligation, and dominance.

Inter-group Gifting Inter-category Gifting Intra-group Gifting Interpersonal Gifting Intra-personal Gifting

 Marketing aimed at creating strong, lasting relationships with a core group of customers by making them feel good about the company and by giving them some kind of personal connection with the business.